Bree Despain is the author of the Dark Divine trilogy. The following is a complete transcript of Bree’s interview with Cracking the Cover.
Why do you write for young readers?
My characters are almost always close to the age of 17 because I feel like that was the time in my own life when I really started to figure out who I wanted to be as a person–when I first started to come into myself. What I love about writing YA is re-exploring all those firsts in life. First love, first kisses, first time behind the wheel, maybe the first time getting to travel without your parents, the first time you really start to think about who you want to be and what kind of impact you want to have on the world. The “firsts” are always so intense and often life-changing–why would I want to write about anything else?
Are you surprised by the popularity of the Dark Divine books?
At the time I started writing the first book in the trilogy, I knew there was a possibility that it would never be published because I was combining religious themes with a paranormal book, but I felt like it was a story that I had to write–even if it was just for myself. So the fact that it’s now been published in over seventeen countries, and that so many people have read it, just blows me away. I feel extremely grateful for every person who picks up one of my books and gives it a chance.
What is it about your trilogy that sets it apart from its contemporaries?
I like to call my series “a modern interpretation of the parable of the Prodigal Son with a paranormal twist.” Actually, each book in the trilogy explores the themes of a different biblical parable, but in an unexpected way. However, the themes of the prodigal son story–redemption, family, sacrifice, and what might happen to the brother who can’t forgive–are at the core of the entire series.
This trilogy is about a girl who is a pastor’s daughter who discovers the paranormal underworld that exists within our own world. She is forced to confront and balance her own morals and beliefs with her paranormal duties and destiny. I think its the exploration of these themes of faith, sacrifice, and redemption that set it apart from more traditional paranormal romance stories.
“The Savage Grace” is the third book in your Dark Divine trilogy. Did you have the whole storymapped out prior to writing it?
My editor makes me thuroughly outline my books before I start writing them–but I don’t know if the finished book ever ends up looking much like the outline. I see outlines as the place for getting out all the mediocre ideas, and then as I’m writing I try to come up with ways to “top” those original ideas.
How does “Savage Grace” differ as a published book from your first idea for it? What about the whole trilogy?
I think the book is a lot more exciting and action-packed than the original outline. There were also a couple of characters who surprised me with decisions that they made and they ended up taking different paths than I had originally anticipated at the end of the second book. I’ve found that you can’t force a character to react the way you want them to as opposed to how they would organically react based on who they are. This can end up taking different story elements and characters to places I didn’t see coming–but it always ends up being a better story because of it.
Your trilogy started with pretty minimal supernatural elements that have amplified as the series progressed. Was that a conscious decision from the beginning or did it evolve that way.
I think it’s just the organic way the story as a whole unfolds. The reader learns more about the supernatural world as the main character does. In the first book, she was just dipping her tows into the water. In the second book, she’s plunged head first into it. And by the third book, she has to come to terms with being the one who is expected to co-captain the boat on the stormy sea. It has been really fun and satisfying to delve deeper and deeper into the paranormal elements of the story and get to develop more world-building skills as I went along.
How has your writing evolved from when you first started until now?
When I first started writing, I thought I wanted to only write humerus chick-lit type books–realistic but funny high school stories for girls. I had no interest in writing fantasy, and I actually thought that I didn’t like fantasy. Then, several years ago, I decided that instead of writing something purely funny and entertaining, I wanted to take on some more serious themes with my writing. That is when I started writing the first draft of THE DARK DIVINE. it was originally going to be a story about a girl who was trapped between her loyalty to her brother and her love for her brother’s former best friend. But as I started to delve into writing the book, I started to wonder what would happen if there was something supernatural going on in the book. (It’s probably because I had recently discovered reruns of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and much to my surprise, I loved it.) I was hesitant to write anything fantastical at first, but started playing with the idea of turning the “inner-demons” my characters were dealing with into more “literal” demons. Once I embraced this metaphor and ran with it in the book, the story really started to come alive. I have to say that I’ve fully embraced almost all things paranormal, fantasy, and sci-fi. Now almost all of my story ideas have something fantastical going on in them.
You’ve spent a big chunk of time working on the series. How do you feel now that it’s done?
I think it feels really good and especially monumental to have finished an entire series. I am so happy that I got to write this third book because it allowed me to develop the characters so much more fully than before. They really get a chance to become who they are meant to be. I just hope readers enjoy the book as much as I do. I always have a lot trepidation over disappointing readers, so I hope this book lives up to their expectations. It also feels good to working on something totally new. It feels almost kind of weird to get to know a whole them set of characters.
What are you working on now?
I am working on a book that is slated for publication in Fall 2013. I am not sure how much I am allowed to say about it, but can tell you that it is a story that I started working on before THE DARK DIVINE was published and it feels so good to be working on it again. Also, it’s a story that explores some of my favorite Greek myths but in a new modern way that I haven’t seen before.
What do you hope readers bring away from your book/s?
My career goal is to write books that readers will find both entertaining and meaningful.
Does it surprise you that adults seem to enjoy your books just as much as YAs?
I’ve loved YA books for my entire adult life, so it doesn’t surprise me to see other adults enjoying my YA books. They are just realizing what the rest of us YA-lovers have known all along–YA is awesome! I think adults enjoy YA for the same reason I love to write it–it’s all about reliving those “firsts” in life. Everything is so much more intense to teenagers and that makes for a really fun book.
Did you have a favorite book or book that really resonated with you as a young reader?
When I was in the eighth grade, I discovered a book called JACKAROO by Cynthia Voigt that really captured my imagination. I think this is the book that made me want to be a writer, and its strong female heroine inspired me to want to be strong like her.